Belize gave a spirited performance in their opening Central American Cup game, but ultimately went down to a 0-2 defeat against defending champions and tournament hosts, Panama. The home team squandered numerous chances in the early stages and Deon McCaulay nearly made them pay when his fierce close-range shot was parried to safety by Panamanian 'keeper Jaime Penedo in the twelfth minute. Panama eventually took the lead in the twenty-first minute when Edwin Aguilar escaped from his marker at a corner and just got to the ball ahead of Belizean 'keeper Shane Orio to head in. Seven minutes later Robert Brown finished off an excellent move from the hosts, slotting past the exposed Orio to make it 2-0. Chances were scarce for either side in the second-half, but McCauley should have done better with a free header which he put over the bar from close-range. The Belizean defence stood firm and were rarely troubled, helping to secure a highly respectable result against much higher-ranked opponents.
Panama (2) 2 (Aguilar 22', Brown 28') Belize (0) 0
Belize team: Shane Moody-Orio (captain, Evral Trapp, Dalton Eiley, Victor Morales, Karieem Haylock (sub: Luis Mendez 86') Elroy Smith, Elroy Kuylen, Ryan Simpson (sub: Ian Gaynair 46'), Daniel Jimenez, Orlando Jimenez (sub: Deris Benavides 72') Deon McCaulay.
Bookings: Daniel Jimenez 20', Ian Gaynair 76', Deon McCaulay 87'.
In the other group A game, El Salvador defeated Nicaragua 2-0 with second-half goals from Jaime Alas and Rafael Burgos. Goalkeeper Denis Espinoza had a fine game for Nicaragua, saving a penalty from Arturo Alvaraz.
The Group B game between competition heavyweights Costa Rica and Honduras ended 1-1, the Hondurans needing an injury-time equaliser from Ramon Nunez to cancel out Victor Nunez's goal for the Costa Ricans just before half-time.
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